Jesse Holley, former UNC football player and winner of a Cowboys roster spot vis-a-vis Michael Irvin's reality show could end up getting called up to the actual roster soon. It's a pretty cool story, like a "Rudy Does Dallas" or some such. And Irvin is proud of him, obviously.

Earlier this week, Greg Jennings got pretty upset about the fact that he hasn't been seeing the number of catches/targets that you would expect from a guy who's topped 1,000 yards for two straight years. Totally understandable, ESPECIALLY FOR HIS SEETHING FANTASY OWNERS. Ahem, anyway, he apologized, but, seriously, please throw him the ball.

Rex Ryan told the New York media that if he hadn’t drafted Mark Sanchez, he would have tried to get Brett Favre to come back to the Jets in 2009. Favre spent an eventful but ultimately forgettable 2008 season in New York (forgettable by Favre’s standard).

Ryan generally means what he says, but it’s possible that he’s getting carried away here. If the Jets were really high on Favre, it’s likely they would have kept him around one more season and let Sanchez learn the ropes as a backup. Remember, Sanchez essentially only played one year at USC. He was incredibly inexperienced upon entering the NFL.

Then again, it would have been a circus if the Jets had brought Favre in just months after drafting Sanchez. And the Jets, like the rest of the world, had no idea before the ’09 season that Favre would wind up reclaiming his MVP caliber. So who knows? (It's all just chatter at this point anyway.)

In more important news, our Jets Rapid Reporter says Ryan believes both Calvin Pace (foot) and Darrell Revis (hamstring) will return to action when the Jets host the Vikings Monday night.

We told you the other day that Jets CB Darrelle Revis (hamstring) probably wouldn’t play this Sunday vs. Buffalo but that LB Calvin Pace – who’s missed the entire season so far with a foot injury – might have a chance to do so.

In a successful prank, QB Mark Sanchez walked up behind offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and yanked down his shorts. Where I come from, we called that “a shank,” though curiously my wife grew up calling it a “rip down.”

While we’re talking about big-name players who aren’t practicing today, Baltimore’s Ray Rice (knee contusion) also isn’t participating. But here at the Facts & Rumors blog, we hate bringing you bad practice news without some good news. So, here it is: OT Jared Gaither (back) practiced for the first time since Aug. 5, writes the Baltimore Sun. UPDATE (1:57 p.m.): Dealing with this yanking-down-the-shorts issue, I issued an instant Twitter poll to see what other people called it.

Some interesting answers, including “Pants’d” and “Dropdrawls” and, by far the most popular answer, “Drooping" (that must be a Cincinnati thing).

One guy said his buddies called it “free ballin,” and when it happened, everybody in the vicinity started singing, “Free Ballin’” to the tune of Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin.’” Which is pretty awesome.

My favorite response, though, came from @nvanholt. “I call it hilarious.” Great point.

Jim Schwartz is rather improbably one game away from the worst 20-game start by a head coach in Detroit Lions history, according to Tom Kowalski of the Detroit Free Press . This isn't improbable because the Lions are good, clearly. It's improbable because Schwartz is, in my estimation, a very good head coach who'd done a pretty good job making lemonade out of the rotted out lemon seeds that Matt Millen left hanging around the greater Detroit area. Additionally, Schwartz has dealt with injuries to Matthew Stafford in two straight seasons, a total lack of an offensive line and one of the worst defenses in NFL history last year. The simple fact that he's won a few games is actually impressive; even if he starts off with the worst record in Detroit history (through 20 games) it seems unlikely that the cautious optimism permeating the Lions organization and fanbase these days will cease to exist.

Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic believes that the Cardinals need to change quarterbacks "immediately" even though they're 2-1. There's no argument against the fact that Derek Anderson isn't "great" or even "good" but right now he's at least winning (even if it's not deservedly), and considering how high Ken Wisenhunt is on BYU product Max Hall, you'd certainly think that if he thought he could get the job done as a starter, he'd be getting the opportunity.

The possibility of Michael Vick getting injured after such a hot start has to be terrifying to Eagles fans. Bleeding Green Nation points out that Vick is "still taking too many hits" which is probably symptomatic of a porous offensive line. But Vick also holds the ball longer than a normal quarterback too, and that creates some danger. (Like that he might also score rushing touchdowns for my fantasy team!)

Ryan Grant wanted to know if he could tweet during the Packers-Bears game on Monday night. Apparently, that's totally legal -- Brian McCarthy of NFL PR let him know (via Twitter, duh) that as long as he wasn't on the sidelines or locker room, he was fine to hit up the social media during games.

Did the Dolphins blow a chance to "make a statement in the division?" That's what the Phinsider believes -- I'm inclined to agree, especially considering the way in which the defense got pure-tee shredded by the Jets on a nationally televised game.

And of course it's not a party without some discussion of the junk-grabbing Shaun Smith -- Arrowhead Pride has video of the "incident" and a nice little recap of Smith's awkward little problem.

The answer to that is, "absolutely." The Jets manhandled a very good Dolphins defense from the get-go, as Sanchez repeatedly targeted emerging tight end Dustin Keller, who racked up 91 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.

"We kept telling everyone who would listen that this kid had learned and the offseason was about as impressive as it gets," Ryan said. "And I think you're seeing the dividends of that hard work now."

Given where this team stood after six quarters of football -- staring 0-2 in the face with a potential loss to the Patriots in Week 2 -- and where they stand after three weeks of football -- tied for first in the division -- kudos have to be given to the coaching staff for getting the offense prepped enough to take on a divisional foe that

"I told them in the locker room that I have confidence in our offense, but I don't know if I really believe that statement," Rex Ryan said afterward.

Clearly, the Jets staff did a good job of that; equally as impressive was their ability to take the distracting situation of Braylon Edwards' DUI earlier in the week and move past it to win a game.

"It's an unfortunate situation, obviously," Ryan said. "I thought we dealt with it, I thought we supported our player -- we support all our players.

But, you know, that's really all I'm gonna say. But we're behind our guys all the way. And this is a tough team and I told you that last year -- we all saw that last year and that's what we can hang our hat on."

But one thing's important to remember -- this isn't a Dolphins team that should be taken lightly, even if the defense completely caved against a Jets team that no one thought would light up South Beach for 30-plus points.

And given the Patriots struggles on defense in the past two weeks, it's not hard to imagine that this division could end up coming down to the two teams who battled out in a surprising shootout Sunday night. But for now, despite even 2-1 records, the Jets get the nod as the East's top team.

Just, uh, don't tell them that. We don't want anyone getting too excited and thinking they have to start celebrating.

In my experiences, it’s never too early to hype somebody, no matter how early it is in the season or in a career. Sure, you run the risk of overhype, but then again, who cares? That’s partially what makes following and covering NFL football so much fun. Let the compliments and hyperbole fly and see where everything falls (either in the sky with the stars or on the floor with the garbage).

This week, we’re examining the second-year players who have impressed us the most this season. Some were not stars last season, but in their second years have shown they are, in fact, pretty good – if not great – players. Some were Pro Bowlers last year who have continued their strong play. Some have finally emerged this year. And some who were really special last year but have done next to nothing this season weren’t included.

This is the list in which we celebrate those who haven’t fallen into the so-called sophomore slump. Of course, it’s only two games into the season. Still plenty of time for those compliments to fall from the heavens and thud to the turf.

10. Mark Sanchez, QB, Jets: Listen, I know he’s not the greatest QB out there. He’s got a career 54.7 completion percentage, and he’s got 15 career TDs against 20 INTs. But I saw him in last year’s playoffs manage his team to the AFC championship game as a rookie, and he has the backing of New York’s management. He’s not going to be the next Peyton Manning, but he’s showing improvement. And Sanchez (21 of 30 for 220 yards and three TDs) outplayed Tom Brady last Sunday to beat the Patriots. Maybe an AFC East title isn’t out of the question. 9. Johnny Knox, WR, Bears: Knox is a member of the powerful triumvirate of players from Abilene Christian who are making an impact in the NFL today (Bengals RB Bernard Scott and Bears S Danieal Manning are the others). He had a solid rookie season on offense, but he really shined on special teams, making the Pro Bowl as a KO returner. He’s made seven catches this year so far, and you saw his ability on the 59-yard pass from Jay Cutler last week when Knox used his pure speed to burn Dallas CB Mike Jenkins and make the catch. 8. Pat McAfee/Kevin Huber, P, Colts/Bengals: Finally, some love for the punters (though we don’t give enough love to give these two an entry of their own). These two were the best punters in the Big East in their final collegiate seasons – McAfee at West Virginia and Huber at Cincinnati – and they’ve translated those skills into the NFL. McAfee averaged 44.3 yards last year, and though his yards per punt numbers have fallen a bit, he’s dropped five punts inside the 20-yard line. Huber, meanwhile, has upped his average yardage to 44.7. 7. LeSean McCoy, RB, Eagles: Last season, McCoy scored four rushing touchdowns and he caught 40 passes. Already this season, he’s scored four rushing touchdowns and caught nine passes. Plus, he’s averaging a ridiculous 6.7 yards per rush. He scored three touchdowns in the Eagles win against the Lions on Sunday, and it was the first time a Philadelphia RB has accomplished that since 1995. 6. Knowshon Moreno, RB, Broncos: Remember how big a loss it could have been when Moreno went down with an injury in the preseason – we asked if Correll Buckhalter or (yikes) LenDale White could take over those No. 1 reps – but since he’s returned, Moreno has reminded Broncos fans why they were so worried about his injury prognosis in the first place. After all, he leads the team with 182 total yards of offense.

5. Josh Freeman, QB, Buccaneers: Behind Byron Leftwich and Josh Johnson last year, Freeman didn’t get any playing time until midway through the season, where he took over the starting role. He kept his starting position throughout the offseason, but he promptly fractured the thumb on his throwing hand in the preseason and missed some time. But since he’s returned, he’s been quite good, and Tampa Bay surprisingly is 2-0. This, even though Freeman is just 22 years old. 4. Hakeem Nicks, WR, Giants: With a solid rookie season, Nicks was a guy who could be expected to make contributions behind Steve Smith and Mario Manningham. Don’t think anybody expected this. Of Nicks’ six catches on the year, four of them have gone for touchdowns. After catching three of them in Week 1, he rolled his ankle and was questionable for last Sunday. But he returned for the Colts game and secured another one late in that contest. He’s becoming a dangerous receiving threat. 3. Brian Orakpo, LB, Redskins: After Washington drafted him with the No. 13 pick overall in the 2009 Draft, Orakpo had a huge rookie season, recording 11 sacks and earning a Pro Bowl berth. Orakpo’s stats aren’t quite as big so far this year, but he’s still causing plenty of fear among opposing offensive lineman. He’s blitzing more often than last year, and against Dallas in Week 1, he forced Alex Barron into three holding penalties, including the game-winner. 2. Arian Foster, RB, Texans: Did anybody see this coming? Especially after last season when he was just a practice squad player in Houston? Well, who would have thought Foster had the 33-carry, 231-yard, three-touchdown career day he had in Week 1 vs. the Colts? Yeah, he came down to earth a little bit Sunday (19 carries for 69 yards and three catches for 69 yards), but still, is there a more exciting RB in the game right now? 1. Clay Matthews, LB, Packers: He’s been the most dominant defensive player in the NFL this year. He’s got six sacks already this season, and already, there’s talk about him breaking the sack record (um, chances are, this won’t happen). But considering he had 10 sacks last year and is already more than halfway to matching that mark, that’s an awfully impressive figure. And he’s got an impressive head of blonde hair.

Joe Namath spent much of Monday night on Twitter, berating the Jets for their inability to score points in what was the ugliest game in an ugly Week 1. Namath's tweeting was accurate, but not typically the type of thing you'd want out of a former player and Jets legend, especially when the team was struggling so bad.

"The sun came up, we knew it would, and there's nothing wrong with going 15-1," he said. "I'm confident in our scheme. Nothing changes [because of Monday night]. It's way too early to hit the panic button."

I really can't emphasize "politely" enough -- Sanchez in no way took shots at Namath, and wasn't even really defensive in his quotes. In fact, it was kind of disappointing after hearing that there was a "war of words" or some such going on.

"Joe likes to sling it because that's kind of the offense they had back then," Sanchez said. "But we have a great running game, and we would never want to abandon that."

As mentioned, Sanchez had nothing bad to say about the former Jet quarterback -- I'd be willing to bet, though, that you end up seeing Broadway Joe tame his in-game tweets down a notch (or at least make them more constructive) after someone more willing to speak, ahem, freely -- think: Rex Ryan or Woody Johnson -- politely asks him to tone it down a notch.